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Saturday, October 10, 2015

The Last Waltz with Pat Santarsiero

Happy Saturday to you, Dear Readers! I hope you have a great weekend. My guest today is giving away two boos so that should get you off to a good start!I would like to welcome Pat Santarsiero back to More Agreeably Engaged. The last time she was here was November 2, 2013, after the release of Thursday's Child. Now she is here to tell us how her newest book, The Last Waltz, came into being. I am so glad to have to visit again, Ms. Santarsiero. It is a pleasure.

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How and when did your interest in
Jane Austen and Pride and Prejudice take root?

I would love
to be able to tell you that I discovered Jane Austen as I sought to broaden my
literary horizons, but the truth is I never read Pride and Prejudice, or for that
matter any of Jane Austen’s novels,
until I watched the 1996 BBC version of Pride and Prejudice, starring Colin
Firth. It was lust at first sight!

I became
obsessed (a fortunate or unfortunate personality trait, depending on your point
of view) with both Colin and Jane Austen, in that order. Though I admit my motives at the time were not
exactly literary, they did get me started down a certain path. I soon had read every novel Jane had written
and before I knew it, I was scouring P&P fanfiction websites for my weekly
fix. Eventually, I took the plunge and
decided to write a story of my own.

Thursday’s
Child was my first attempt at writing anything.
I never thought I had a talent for writing and had never even given it a
thought. But the idea of that story was
so strong that I decided to give it a try. No one was more surprised than I
was, when it was received so well. Even
then, I thought it was just a fluke. I doubted
that I would ever write another one, but here I am, telling you about my new
book, The Last Waltz.

Do you have a muse that causes your
story to lead you at times or do you use an outline and follow it
religiously?

I have no
outline, just a sketchy idea of how I want to start and how I want to end. I have certain scenes pictured in my mind
that I know I want to use. I find
inspiration in almost everything. Music
is one I rely on a lot. If there is a
song that makes me feel a certain emotion, I try to emulate that feeling in my
writing. One of the strangest places in which I found inspiration was a J. Peterman
Catalogue! So you never know what is
going to trigger your imagination. I
really do try to get inside my characters’ heads and feel what they are feeling
at the moment. They tell me in which direction the story will go.

Tell us something about your newest
book that you love the most.

It’s
difficult to know where to start. As
with Thursday’s Child, The Last Waltz was a labor of love. But I was lucky in one aspect as I believe the
hardest thing about writing a new story is coming up with a good premise that
you can build an interesting story around.
That difficult task was handed to me on a silver platter. It started when I was first posting chapters of
Thursday’s Child on a fanfiction website.
After each posting I would get dozens of comments. After one particular chapter that had
Caroline Bingley at her most despicable, comments flooded in as to how they
would love to see me kill her off.
Suggestions ranged from being attacked by bees to an apoplectic
fit. When one reader suggested a FCA, I
had no idea what it meant. My commenters
quickly informed me that it meant ‘freak carriage accident’. I explained I had no FCA planned for
Thursday’s Child, but would consider it for my next book.

So,
naturally, I became obsessed with the idea and a FCA is the premise for The
Last Waltz. The possibilities seemed
endless, but it was my own personal experiences and emotions that I was able to
draw upon allowing me to give an authentic voice to my characters. I can’t really say more without revealing too
much of the storyline. But what I love most about this story is that I think
every woman who reads it will be able to relate to this Elizabeth Bennet on
some level. We all have our own
insecurities about ourselves, whether real or imagined, and this Elizabeth
Bennet is no exception. Whether she will
learn to overcome them or allow them to dictate her life is the question.

I also like
that I gave Mr. Bennet a fairly significant role in this story. Since I killed him off at the very beginning
of Thursday’s Child, I thought at least I owed him that much!

What have you learned from writing
that has helped you in your daily life?

Well, first
the most important thing that I learned from this whole experience is that you
never know where life is going to take you.
When I think of how I got started on this journey (that would be my
lusting after Colin Firth), it is almost unbelievable to me that it has led to
my publishing two books.

What I’ve learned
from my writing is that if you have the desire to do something, you should just
take a chance and do it. You might
discover that you have a talent you didn’t even know you had. Nothing ventured, nothing gained as they say.
Whether you succeed or fail, you should never regret trying something new. I have friends who have told me I have
inspired them and I must admit that I am more confident in my own abilities
since I have taken up writing.

Well, I for one, am happy that you chose to write another book. It was good that the suggestions inspired you. I enjoyed Thursday's Child and found the premise believable because of the way you wrote the characters and story line. I look forward to reading The Last Waltz and seeing what you have in store for us this time. Thank you for answering these questions and for sharing your thoughts.

I also want to thank you for the giveaway. As I mentioned at the beginning of this post, Pat Santarsiero is giving away two copies of The Last Waltz. A domestic winner will have their choice of eBook or soft cover. An international winner will receive an eBook. To be entered, leave a comment and please include your contact info. The giveaway ends at 11:59 PM 16 October, 2015. Good luck to all.

Someone posted on FB about how much they loved The Last Waltz and it intrigued me! And now a FCA intrigues me more! Lol! Thanks for the chance to win copy! (Excuse any mistakes! Commenting from my phone!) @CandyM037

Yes, Colin's portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy was most compelling. I really don't know if I would have been so into Jane Austen without him. I picture him in every scene I write. Glad you enjoyed the interview and I hope you get to enjoy the book too!

Thank you for the interview. I thoroughly enjoyed Thursday's Child as it was a very different premise. FCA is a great term and how interesting that that comment created this new story idea. Kudos to you, Pat, for having the courage to take a chance. Thank you for the giveaway! evamedmonds(at)gmail(dot)com

Thanks for such an interesting interview ladies. I only became aware of this wonderful online community at the beginning of last year so I missed Pat's first book when it was published. Needless to say, it's now on my Wish List. I hadn't come across the FCA term before, either, but have come across the scenario in other JAFF books.

Colin Firth wasn't my first Darcy, but twenty years down the line, he remains my favourite. It'll be interesting to read your books, Pat, knowing that you always have him in mind when you're writing. With some JAFF authors, I can hear Colin's voice quite clearly when Darcy speaks, but with others, it's a totally different, unknown voice. Looking forward to finding out if I hear Colin with your books.

I'm glad you enjoyed the interview and hopefully someone will see Thursday's Child on your wish list. (Christmas is coming!) I'd be interested to know if you hear Colin's voice when you read it. Good luck!

Hi Ginna, It always makes my day when sometime tells me they enjoyed "Thursday's Child." I hope you enjoy "The Last Waltz" just as much. Of course, it will be even more enjoyable if you get a copy for free! Good Luck.